Leesburg senior finds calling after heartbreak

Wednesday

May 17, 2017 at 7:00 AM

By Paul Ryan / Correspondent

LEESBURG — Stevonta Sanders is a young man in a hurry. The Leesburg High senior can be found working in the guidance office part of the school day, then he's at track practice. Or football practice. Or working at the Steeplechase retirement home. His sunny disposition can mask the energy — his body is constantly in motion — but Stevonta has a lot going on and even more to get done.

Stevonta wasn’t always this way. Sure, he’s played football for as long as he can remember, starting as a kid in Pop Warner. He played at Wildwood High until the school canceled its program, forcing him to move to Leesburg. He’s a three-time 4x400 relay state competitor, too. But that all came to a sudden stop his freshman year when his aunt died of cancer.

“She loved all her nieces and nephews. She was always there for you if you needed her,” Stevonta said.

After that shock, he was unmoored. His grades began to slip, threatening his sports eligibility.

“I couldn’t care less about school,” he said of that time.

Stevonta's slide took up much of his sophomore year, nearly derailing the rest of his high school career. Fortunately his family, teachers and coaches rallied to him with genuine love and hard truths.

“They said ‘I know this is a tough time for you, but you still have to go on with your life. You still have to graduate,’” Stevonta said. “Come 11th grade I’ve been working my butt off so I can make up for ninth and 10th. It’s been hard, but I did it.”

He also found refuge in his faith. His mother has always stressed the importance of God in people’s lives and Stevonta took it to heart, too. When he was feeling particularly down or overwhelmed he could count on his pastor, but most of all he prayed.

“I’d say ‘Hey God, what do you want me to do?,’” he said. “‘What’s your calling for me? How can I be the person you want me to be?’”

Stevonta thinks he found the answer in the middle of his senior year. His hard work in sports was paying off, but his heart was drawn to the stage. His friends all want to be the next Michael Jordan, but he wants to be the next Tom Cruise.

“I want to become an actor. Growing up I was always in church plays, things of that nature. I’ve been doing this for a while,” he said.

He is looking at colleges where he can get an athletic scholarship but major in theater, though he’s a little concerned that his late decision may make things harder. He knows other candidates have been studying theater much longer, that he will have to play catch up. Even so, he sees his athletic life as one in service of his dreams of acting.

“I always played sports but, my thing was to get that sports scholarship so I can pay for college,” he said. “I want to do something different from what my peers around me do. Why not go for something different?”